California Split is a classic poker movie dating from the period when the game had just started to garner wider attention, leaving the smoke-filled backrooms of bars and saloons and coming into the light of day.
The entire plot of the movie revolves around two characters, Bill (played by George Segal) and Charlie (Elliot Gould), who become friends after playing in a poker game together. After the game, they end up in the same bar and hit it off.
The two men don’t know too much about each other, and this doesn’t change by the end of the movie. What brings them together is their passion for poker and betting on horses. Charlie is a long-time gambler who lives for the next bet; Bill has his gambling somewhat under control to begin with, but as his friendship with Charlie develops, so does his gambling addiction.
Things culminate with Bill pawning off a bunch of things to gather some cash so he can go to Reno to play in a big $40/$80 Stud game. Charlie decides to join him as his partner “in crime” and the two embark on the biggest gambling adventure of their lives.
Core California Split Movie Details & Ratings
- Title : California Split
- Year: 1974
- Director: Robert Altman
- Main cast: George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss, Amarillo Slim
- Genre: Comedy / Drama
- Duration: 108 min.
- Overall score: 8 / 10
| Criteria | Score (1-10) | Reviewer note |
| Poker Realism | 9/10 | Action at the tables is depicted in a very realistic way for the games being played and the period. |
| Story & Writing | 8/10 | The story is seemingly a simple one, but it has multiple layers and it’s believable enough to be both funny and sad at times. |
| Acting & Characters | 7/10 | The acting feels a bit forced at times, but the development of characters is pretty solid. Plus, Amarillo Slim gets a fair amount of camera time. |
| Poker Excitement Factor | 7/10 | There isn’t much poker suspense as such, but there is still a fair bit of excitement stemming from happenings at the table. |
| Entertainment value | 8/10 | The movie won’t rock your world, but it is an entertaining watch overall. |
What We Loved About California Split
The movie opens with a scene of Charlie watching an ad inside a cardroom that explains the basics of poker and invites people to give the game a try. Of course, games being advertised aren’t Texas Hold’em or PLO. Instead, they are Five Card Draw and Ace-to-Five Lowball (apparently played with a Joker).
If you’re a poker fan, you’ll definitely appreciate these few minutes, during which the voice in the ad tries its best to explain what the game is all about, emphasizing social elements, but also warning about proper etiquette at the tables.
In some ways, the movie itself feels a bit like an ad for poker, as Charlie and Bill do end up striking a friendship thanks to the game (the nature of that friendship notwithstanding).
As far as the poker action is concerned, from what can be heard and understood, it seems pretty spot on. It’s hard to say what the rules would be in a 1970s LA cardroom, but things seem to track. This is commendable for a film made in 1974, as many poker movies that came later did a pretty bad job in this department.
The appearance of the poker legend Amarillo Slim adds to the whole shtick. Slim was known as a rounder who always looked for good games, so that he’d be in Reno at the time, sitting behind a pile of chips, fits the story.
The Reno Game
Everything that happens in California Split builds up towards the big trip to Reno, a landmark moment for both friends, albeit for different reasons.
While he’s a moderate gambler at the start, by the time he decides to go to Reno, Bill is completely obsessed with gambling, just like Charlie. For him, this big poker game is a chance to win some money and get out of debt.
For Charlie, it’s just another adventure. What Bill is going through for the first time is pretty much how he lives his life.
Charlie believes Bill is a better player, so he is happy for him to take all the money and sit in the game. He doesn’t even take it to heart too much that Bill keeps telling him to step away from the tables because he is bad luck.
Charlie is a gambler through and through, and none of these superstitions is foreign to him; in fact, he believes in them.
As luck would have it, Bill goes on an upswing of a lifetime, starting with just $2,000 and running it up to almost $20,000. This streak of good luck continues beyond the poker table, as he keeps winning on blackjack, roulette, and, eventually, at the craps table.
Bill eventually craps out after a girl comes out of nowhere to bet a single dollar on seven, while Bill and Charlie have hundreds spread out on the table. He walks away from the table without saying a word, and Charlie follows him with a bunch of chips Bill just left behind.
The final tally: they are up to $82,000, and Charlie is super excited, already planning where they could go next to continue gambling. However, after all that had happened, Bill struggles to feel anything and realizes it is time for him to go home.
Shortcomings
Probably the biggest shortcoming of California Split, at least from a poker fan’s perspective, is the lack of scenes showing whole poker hands. We find out that Bill is winning big in the Reno game, but we don’t get to see any hands he played to get there.
It feels like the filmmakers missed a trick here, as an intense hand involving Slim and Bill would certainly add to the movie.
Beyond this, there are no serious shortcomings that would impact your ability to enjoy this movie. The story itself may seem a bit exaggerated, but the way California Split depicts gambling, addiction, and friendships based primarily (or even exclusively) on the shared love for games of chance is actually quite realistic.
Final Verdict
California Split is an interesting mix of comedy and drama that uses the game of poker as the main catalyst for the plot. While the movie lacks in scenes showing actual gameplay, poker remains the main theme that everything builds around.
This is a movie with a message (or two), but what that message might be is up to you to decide. What you take away from California Split will depend greatly on how you approach it, but you won’t be sorry for spending a couple of hours on it.
Overall score: 8/10
